Prime ministers in waiting

Feb 2, 2013, 12.00 AM IST

Let's consider who's in the ring. Congress's Jyotiraditya Scindia says "millions of youth" want Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate. But BJP's Yashwant Sinha seems to suggest Narendra Modi can paint the town - New Delhi - saffron. BJP MP Ram Jethmalani insists Modi's "secular", so NDA allies needn't fret. If ally Akali Dal is amenable, the Shiv Sena's rooting for Sushma Swaraj. Is that because the lady has "Balasaheb's blessings" as the party says, or because the post-Bal Thackeray Sena is worried about Maharashtra getting Modi-fied? For JD(U)-wallahs Nitish Kumar's NDA's best bet for the post of pradhan mantri, so Modi had better rest content with being Gujarat's mukhya mantri.

A Congress spokesman's asked us to enjoy the "tama-sha" being played out within the NDA. Only, his own enjoyment might dissipate now that a spokesman of the NCP - a long-time UPA ally - says Sharad Pawar's ideal for the high post, being a "tall leader". Now, that Pawar-packed pitch will work only if the NCP chief's not serious about wanting to retire from parliamentary politics. In case he's fed up of waiting for his shot at glory, he can learn lessons in patience from L K Advani. Look how long BJP's "loh purush" seems to have waited in the shadows as shadow PM.

Can all this high-stakes drama inspire a filmy rendering of the theme of political ambition? Or would such a movie be deemed a law and order hazard in Tamil Nadu, like Kamal Haasan's spy-thriller Vishwaroopam? Consider that Haasan's said to have his own idea of who should be pradhan mantri: a certain "dhoti-clad Tamilian" rumoured to be none other than Union minister P Chidambaram! It's said that DMK chief Karunanidhi feels that might have provoked the big ban theory of the Tamil Nadu government led by a certain sari-clad politician. Last heard though, Jayalalithaa - oft-projected by AIADMK loyalists as a potential 'Third Front' PM - is willing to facilitate the release of Haasan's film.

The race to Race Course Road sure makes for a thrilling plot. And the plot thickens when Rahul Gandhi suggests leaders should "let others take the glory" while working quietly in the background. Does Congress's new veep want this formula of self-effacement applied to all kursi-holders, including the PM? Well, look at how Sonia-ji relinquished the throne in Manmohan-ji's favour. Some hold up sacrifice as a noble ideal before power-seekers. Others have a slightly different take. Why mount the gaddi if you can be the power behind it?